The FDA's Tyrannical War on Health (video)

There is a threat against your health- not from some toxin or new super bug- but from right inside the halls of government, from an agency that is supposed to protect health but is in fact in the hip pocket of Big Pharma, engaged in a far-flung conspiracy to make it impossible for you to have good food or natural supplements. Find out why the FDA may be the greatest threat to your health and what you can do about it.

Is Psychiatry the Secret Government? (video)

Take Drugs Or Else!! (video)

A SWAT team with a tank was used to force a mother to put her normal daughter on psych medications! They kidnapped the child and placed in foster care on drugs! After a long legal fight the mother and daughter were reunited.

Tips for Losing Unwanted Fat

Here are 4 very doable tips for winning the battle against unwanted unhealthy fat. Of course, just losing weight alone is not the same as getting really healthy but it does help. 

I am surprised that the article does not mention the role of grains, especially wheat and corn, which are major contributors to belly fat. You're not going to lose that until you get the wheat, corn and sugar out of the diet. 

On the positive side- get in plenty of raw milk and a good sea salt, like Celtic. Its not just a matter of getting the wrong foods out, you must get the good foods in.

4 Tips for Losing Weight- especially belly fat

Lisa Garber

NaturalSociety
July 26, 2012

It’s not all about looking good. Roll your eyes if you must: everybody’s beautiful in some way. But visceral fat—fat inside the abdomen—is little more than a time bomb wrapped around a belly.Visceral obesity results in fatty acids accumulation in the pancreas, heart, liver, and other organs. This prevents proper organ function, causes improper insulin regulation, and even leads to heart attacks. But don’t stress; if you want to know how to lose visceral fat, try these 4 simple and natural weight loss tips.

How to Lose Visceral Fat – 4 Proven Natural Weight Loss Tips

1. Use Coconut Oil

Although coconut oil got a bad rap in the ‘70s for having high saturated fat content, human studies have shown that coconut oil helps reduce abdominal fat. In one instance, one group of women received 2 tablespoons of coconut oil daily for 12 weeks while the other received none. The group with coconut oil lost some girth and showed a healthy rise in “good” HDL cholesterol levels. As an added bonus, having coconut oil available can also allow you to experience oil pulling benefits.

Replace other cooking oils with coconut oil; it takes like butter (I promise) in baked goods and is mouth-watering in any stir-fry dish.

2. Drink Green Tea

It’s hard to say anything bad about green tea. There has been a connection between green tea and cancer prevention; it helps prevent dementia; it fights free radicals and promote graceful aging, and a 2009 study found that drinking catechin-rich green tea promoted weight loss. 

3. Sunbathe for Vitamin D

We’ve already extolled the benefits of vitamin D; one of them is weight loss! A study by researchers at the University of Minnesota reported on the relationship between vitamin D and weight loss, showing that weight loss occurred among people who adopted a balanced diet and had high vitamin D levels. We shouldn’t rob our bodies of the vitamin D found in UVB radiation. To burn some fat, spend short periods outdoors without sunscreen.

4. Avoid Fructose, BPA, and MSG

Countless other toxins likely promote weight gain, but perhaps the three most notable are fructose, Bisphenol A, and monosodium glutamate.

Angel Nadal, a BPA expert at the Miguel Hernendez University in Spain, found that a quarter of a billionth of a gram of BPA triggered the release of twice the regular amount of insulin to digest food. A researcher at UT Southwestern Medical Center reported that fructose (especially when in the form of high fructose corn syrup) may be to blame for obesity, and a study by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill showed MSG led to animal obesity but also applied to human subjects.

Scour ingredients lists and avoid canned foods to keep these dangers out of your pantry.

Additional Sources:

Harvard Medical School

WebMD

Natural Society

The Daily Mail

Explore More:

1. Vitamin D and Weight Loss – Recognizing the Connection
2. 3 Easy Ways to Lose Weight
3. Can You Lose Weight Without Dieting?
4. Weight Loss Improves Memory and Overall Brain Health
5. Don’t Let Your Weight Loss Goals Consume You
6. Are You Aware of the Shocking Rise in Weight Loss Surgeries?

Read more: http://naturalsociety.com/how-to-lose-visceral-fat-weight-loss/#ixzz21pg5VNG3

Survival Is Possible If You Have the Will to Survive

One of the worst human maladies today is the widespread belief that things are bad and getting worse and 'nothing can be done about it'. Prophets of doom and gloom apparently revel in limitless hopelessness. 

But wait! Not so fast! Saving yourself may not be as difficult as you think with the right knowledge. Here are some easy ways to see to it that you eat and eat well even if you have no land for a garden or previous experience...

66 Things You Can Grow At Home: In Containers, Without A Garden

From apples and figs to bananas and guavas — and hops.

Source: www.planetgreen/discovery.com/

By Rachel Cernansky | Mon Apr 26, 2010

Growing your own food is exciting, not only because you get to see things grow from nothing into ready-to-eat fruits and veggies, but you also don’t have to worry about the pesticides they might contain, and you definitely cut down on the miles they—and you—have to travel.

As it turns out, with pretty minimal effort, anyone can be a gardener. My boyfriend and I are essentially first-timers this season and so far have the beginnings of strawberries peeking out, tomatoes are on their way, the basil’s about ready for a big batch of pesto, and once the last frost hits, the peppers, kale, spinach, chard, and mesclun will be on their way, too. All on a tiiiny little terrace (with the help of a little DIY carpentry).

WATCH VIDEO: World’s Greenest Homes: Rooftop Garden

If you’re up to the challenge—and it really isn’t much of one—growing your own food can be so rewarding. And so much cheaper! Just be sure to choose the right planter or container, learn how to maintain it properly, and go find yourself some seeds! (Or starter plants.) Like this idea? Be sure to check out these 6 Crazy Concepts for Micro Gardens That Actually Work to get inspiration for designing your own garden in a small space. While you’re at it, check in with our Organic Gardening feature for tons more info on making your garden grow.

Here’s a starter list of all the crazy things even urban gardeners, without space for a garden, can grow at home

Photo credit: Gardener’s Supply

Tree fruits – including apples

1. Apples can be grown in a container; you can also grow them on the balcony or other small space using a technique called espaliering.

2. Kumquats

3. Avocados (plenty of extra tips online if you search)

4. Blackberries

5. Blueberries (sometimes helpful videos are available online)

6. Pomegranate

7. Cherries

8. Figs

9. Pears

Citrus fruits

Citrus trees in particular are said to be good for beginning gardeners and are easy to grow indoors, so don’t let inexperience or lack of outdoor space stop you from enjoying fresh-picked, hyper-local fruit.

10. Dwarf oranges

11. Grapefruit

12. Tangerines

13. Meyer lemons

14. Limes

Tropical Fruits

Tropical fruits can also be surprisingly easy to grow indoors, even in non-tropical climates. Such as…

15. Bananas (look for container gardening tips online)

16. Pineapple

17. Papaya

18. Guavas (several varieties)

WATCH VIDEO: Living with Ed: Grow It On Site

The real surprises

19. Hops—yes, as in the “spice” ingredient in beer. Turns out they’re easy to grow!

20. Aloe Vera

21. Strawberries

22. Tea (well, herbal tea)

23. Quinoa!

The non-surprises

24. Tomatoes

25. Summer squash

26. Other squashes, like acorn and pumpkin

27. Hot Peppers

28. Sweet peppers

29. Cucumbers

Melons

30. Small cantaloupe

31. Jenny Lind melon (an heirloom cantaloupe)

32. Golden Midget Watermelon

Photo credit: Jupiterimages/Thinkstock

Herbs

Just about any herb grows well indoors—just be sure that if you’re going to do any container-sharing, you do your research first about which herbs co-habitate well together. (Some will hog water, for example, and leave the others dried out.)

33. Basil

34. Oregano

35. Parsley

36. Rosemary

37. Chives

38. Catnip

39. Thyme

40. Sage

41. Parsley

Photo credit: Comstock Images/Thinkstock

Leafy Greens

42. Kale

43. Mesclun greens

44. Spinach

45. Swiss chard

46. Lettuces (plenty of options there, from micro-greens to head or loose-leaf)

47. Mustard greens

48. Collard greens

49. Arugula

Root Vegetables

50. Carrots

51. Beets

52. Potatoes

Photo credit: Pixland/Thinkstock

Other healthy-sounding stuff

53. Sprouts

54. More sprouts: mung bean and lentil sprouts

55. Wheatgrass

56. Kohlrabi

57. Turnips

58. Rutabagas

59. Celeriac

60. Parsnips

61. Jerusalem Artichoke

62. Sugar snap peas

63. Rhubarb (not ideal in a container, but it can work)
64. Mushrooms (again, more tips online if you look)

65. Pole Beans

66. Aaaand… asparagus, although some disagree that it does well in a container. Try it if you’re ok with a risk!

Bonus 67: You can grow your own loofah, too, but you’d need a garden rather than a container for that.

Related Posts:

Grow Your Veggies Upside-Down!

15 Creative Container Garden Ideas

Quick Tips for Getting Rid of Weeds

Top 35 Ways to Succeed at Organic Gardening

Food List of the Dirtiest and the Cleanest Foods

It may be useful to know how likely certain foods may be contaminated with pesticides. That way you can better decide whether to buy organic or leave it completely alone. The food shopper needs all the help she can get these days...

The Dirty Dozen and the Clean Fifteen: 

Guide to Buying Produce

Kelsey Coy

NaturalSociety
July 24, 2012

For the eighth year in a row, the Environmental Watch Group (EWG) has published an updated ‘shopper’s guide’ based on a comprehensive analysis of government pesticide testing data of 45 different fruit and vegetables. The guide includes the ‘dirty dozen:’ the twelve foods most commonly contaminated with pesticides, as well as the ‘clean fifteen:’ the fifteen least contaminated foods. This year the dirty dozen also includes a ‘plus’ category, warning about two foods containing particularly concerning organophospates, insecticides that are known reproductive and neurotoxins. The use of organophosphates have been significantly reduced in the past decade, but is yet to be banned, and this year, a number of crops still tested positive. The journal Environmental Health Perspectives contains 25 articles published in the past week analyzing and discussing the dangers or organophosphates in our food supply.

Also new this year, researchers investigated the pesticide content of 190 samples of baby food, with rather alarming results.

As the EWG simply and frankly reminds us, ‘Pesticides are toxic by design. They are created expressly to kill living organisms — insects, plants, and fungi that are considered “pests.” Many pesticides pose health dangers to people. These risks have been established by independent research scientists and physicians across the world.” The U.S. and international government agencies have linked pesticides to health problems spanning brain and nervous system toxicity, cancer, hormonal disruption and skin, eye and lung irritation. However, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), under pressure from The American Crop Protection Association, largely representative of the pesticide industry, has failed to apply adequate protective measures in regulating our food supply. One might well ask whether it is wiser to protect a country’s crops or its population.

The Dirty Dozen

Without further ado, the dirty dozen:

1. Apples
2. Celery
3. Sweet bell peppers
4. Peaches
5. Strawberries
6. Nectarines (imported)
7. Grapes
8. Spinach
9. Lettuce
10. Cucumbers
11. Blueberries (domestic)
12. Potatoes

Plus 2 more to add to the dirty dozen:

1. Green beans
2. Kale/Collard Greens

Going into a little more detail for the dirty dozen, 100 percent of imported nectarines tested positive for pesticides, as well as 98% of apples and 96% of plums. Grapes had 15 pesticides in a single sample, while blueberries and strawberries each had 13. As an entire category, grape samples contained 64 different pesticides; bell peppers had 88 different residues, cucumbers 81 and lettuce 78.

The Clean Fifteen

And the clean fifteen:

1. Onions
2. Sweet corn
3. Pineapples
4. Avocado
5. Cabbage
6. Sweet peas
7. Asparagus
8. Mangoes
9. Eggplant
10. Kiwi
11. Cantaloupe (domestic)
12. Sweet Potatoes
13. Grapefruit
14. Watermelon
15. Mushrooms

Highlights of the clean fifteen include pineapples, in which fewer than 10% of samples contained pesticides, mangoes and kiwis, both of which were completely free of pesticides more than 75% of the time, and watermelon and domestic cantaloupe over 60% of the time. Among vegetables, no samples of sweet corn and onions had more than one pesticide and more than 90% of cabbage, asparagus, sweet peas, eggplant and sweet potato samples contained no more than one pesticide.

One additional concern to consider: sweet corn, although it may contain less pesticide residues, is quite commonly genetically modified in the U.S. While genetically modified organisms (GMO) are banned or significantly restricted in Australia, Japan and throughout the European Union, the industry is still at large in the U.S., and no labeling is required by the federal government. For this reason, it is recommended that sweet corn consumption also be limited to organic.

Among baby food, green beans and pears were especially disturbing: almost 10% of green beans contained the organophosphate methamidiphos in amounts that could easily increase risk for brain and nervous system damage in infants consuming a four-ounce serving of green beans on a regular basis. 92% of pear samples tested positive for at least one pesticide and over a quarter of samples contained five or more, including iprodione, categorized by the EPA as a probable human carcinogen, and not registered for use on pears. In fact, the presence of iprodione in pears of any kind constitutes a violation of FDA regulations and the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.

While there is no question that Americans need to eat more fruits and vegetables, it’s worth taking an extra step to make sure that produce is delivering the nutrition it’s supposed to, and nothing it’s not. Pause for a moment. Want some neurotoxins with that salad? I didn’t think so.

Additional Sources:

Environmental Working Group

Duke Law Journal

United States Census Bureau

Explore More:

1. Top 15 Least & Most Contaminated Fruits, Vegetables
2. 5 Foods to Buy Organic Always
3. Pesticides in Fruits and Vegetables: What to Do
4. 14 Foods to Buy Organic
5. Simple Science Experiment Shows Why Organic is Better (Video)
6. Apples Top Most Pesticide-Contaminated List

Read more: http://naturalsociety.com/dirty-dozen-fruit-vegetables-clean-15/#ixzz21eAV9xLK

Food and World Dictatorship

Quoting Bertrand Russell from his book, The Impact of Science on Society, we find the role of food in bringing about the New World Order dictatorship... 
Diet, injections, and injunctions will combine, from a very early age, to produce the sort of character and the sort of beliefs that the authorities consider desirable, and any serious criticism of the powers that be will become psychologically impossible. Even if all are miserable, all will believe themselves happy, because the government will tell them that they are so.” – 61

Survival Water Storage and Purification

Sunday, July 22, 2012

Survival Basics: Water Storage, Sourcing, and Purification

image source

George Ure and Gaye Levy, Contributors
Activist Post

Clean water is something that we all take for granted. We turn on the faucet and there it is. It is plentiful, it is clean and it is drinkable. Yes, it may have some undesirable chemical additions (fluoride come to mind) but that is a subject for another day. So, if a disaster occurred and the supply lines to fresh water were comprised, we would be in a pickle. There is a possibility that safe water would not be available for days and possibly not for weeks.

For this reason, the American Red Cross, FEMA, and just about every other authority out there recommends that the public store at least one gallon of water per person, per day for a minimum of three days. But if you think that a three day water supply is adequate, think again.

A more reasonable recommendation is that you up the recommended amount of stored water to a two-week supply. So for two people that would be 2 people x 1 gallon x 14 days = 28 gallons. This amount should cover your minimal needs for drinking, food preparation and nominal – and I mean nominal – hygiene.

Water Storage

Storing water for an emergency can be as simple as filling thoroughly washed plastic or glass containers with tap water and sealing them tightly. This is something that anyone can do without incurring a cost so long as few simple rules are followed.

So let’s do it. Let us store some water following these steps:

1. Clean them up. Thoroughly clean your plastic bottle and jugs with dishwashing soap and water then rinse completely so there is no residual soap.

2. Sanitize with bleach. Sanitize your bottles by adding a solution of 1 teaspoon of unscented liquid household chlorine bleach to a quart of water. Swish the sanitizing solution in the containers so that it touches all interior surfaces. Don’t forget to sanitize the lids and caps as well. After sanitizing the containers and caps, thoroughly rinse out the bleach solution with clean water.

3. Fill ‘em up. Fill them to the top with regular tap water. Add two drops of non-scented liquid household chlorine bleach to the water, then tightly close the containers using the original caps. It is probably a good idea to use some latex or nitrile gloves at this point so that you maintain the sanitation and do not contaminate the caps by touching the inside of them with your fingers.

4. Date the outside with a permanent marker such as a Sharpie.

5. Store in a cool, dark place.

6. Important: rotate in six months. Dump the water, re-sanitize the jugs, and start all over. Personally, I think it would be a good idea to put up a few jugs at the first of each month. Do this for six months and you will build up a nice, rotating stock.

Plastic soda bottles or juice jugs work well for this purpose.

Water stored this way is good for six months to a year as long as it is kept in a cool, dark place. Regardless of where it is kept, the containers should be rotated at the end of the designated period.

Note: Milk jugs should not be used since the milk and protein sugars are difficult to remove and will compromise the stored water because this will provide an environment for bacteria growth. In addition, milk jugs are flimsy and will not hold up, even for a short period of time. Ditto cardboard. The cardboard will eventually leak and make a big mess. Glass is okay but be aware that glass is heavy and subject to breakage.

If you have the space and the budget, you can purchase food-grade plastic drums designed for water storage. These typically hold 55 gallons of water and with the addition of proper purification chemicals, will keep the water safe for up to five years. I personally have a 55 gallon water storage system. It was easy to set up and it came outfitted as a complete kit with all of the various tools and siphons I will need if/when that emergency situation occurs.

Another alternative, of course, is bottled water. The same rule applies: store in a cool, dark area and periodically rotate.

Hidden Sources of Water

In addition to tap water, there are other hidden sources of water that you can use when a disaster occurs. These sources include the water in your hot water heater, pipes, and even the ice cubes from the icemaker in your refrigerator or freezer. Before tapping in to these sources, however, you will first need to shut off the main valve coming in to your home so that you do not contaminate the ”good” water with the “bad”.

Here are some specific instructions for using the water in your hot water tank:

• Turn off the electricity or gas.
• Open the drain at the bottom of the tank.
• Start the water flowing by turning off the water intake valve at the tank and turning on a hot-water faucet.
• And don’t forget: be sure to refill the tank before turning the gas or electricity back on.

Outdoor Sources of Water

Barring the use of stored water or the hidden water sources in your home, there is always the outdoors. Water may be available from rainwater, streams, ponds, lakes and natural streams. But absolutely stay away from flood water since it is likely to contain sewage and other nasties that you do not even want to think about.

When using outdoor sources of water, you are going to have to undertake purification measures to make it safe. There are many ways to purify water, some better than others and some easier than others.

Water Purification

For ad hoc water purification, nothing beats plain old Clorox as long as it is fresh (no more than a year old) and unscented.

According to the Clorox website: When boiling off water for 1 minute is not possible in an emergency situation, you can disinfect your drinking water with Clorox® Regular-Bleach as follows:

1. Remove suspended particles by filtering or letting particles settle to the bottom.
2. Pour off clear water into a clean container.
3. Add 8 drops of Clorox® Regular-Bleach (not scented or Clorox® Plus® bleaches) to one gallon of water (2 drops to 1 quart). For cloudy water, use 16 drops per gallon of water (4 drops to 1 quart).

Boiling water is considered the safest method of purifying water. What you do is bring water to a rolling boil for three to five minutes. The water may not taste that great, but it will be safe to drink.

Factoid: To improve the taste of boiled or stored water, you can put some oxygen back into the water by pouring it back and forth between two containers.

As an alternative to bleach or boiling water, the EPA has guidelines for using calcium hypochlorite, common sold as “pool shock” to disinfect water:

Add and dissolve one heaping teaspoon of high-test granular calcium hypochlorite (approximately ¼ ounce) for each two gallons of water, or 5 milliliters (approximately 7 grams) per 7.5 liters of water. 

The mixture will produce a stock chlorine solution of approximately 500 milligrams per liter, since the calcium hypochlorite has available chlorine equal to 70 percent of its weight. To disinfect water, add the chlorine solution in the ratio of one part of chlorine solution to each 100 parts of water to be treated. 

This is roughly equal to adding 1 pint (16 ounces) of stock chlorine to each 12.5 gallons of water or (approximately ½ liter to 50 liters of water) to be disinfected. To remove any objectionable chlorine odor, aerate the disinfected water by pouring it back and forth from one clean container to another.

A good reference for this and other purification methods can be found in the downloadable and printable article Emergency Disinfection of Drinking Water.

What About Water Filters

The use of water filters to make raw water drinkable is another solution to the water for survival dilemma. The nice thing about a filtration system is that it will not only supplement your stored water, but will provide you with great tasting, chemical-free drinking water for day to day. I personally have a Royal Berkeyand, to tell the truth, wonder what took me so long to discover this alternative to purchased water in bottles and a countertop Brita.

This is not to say that I don’t have bottled water because I do. After all, if I have to leave my home it would be tough to drag along a 55-gallon water barrel or a Berkey. But for day-to-day drinking, as well as for long-term survival needs, you simply can not beat a quality filtration system.

Summing It All Up

Thanks to a tip from one of the Backdoor Survival readers, I learned that you can find pre-used, food-grade plastic drums on Craigslist for about $25 each. If you decide to check in to this, be sure to confirm that the original contents were food items, then clean them well first with vinegar and baking soda to remove odors, then clean with bleach for sanitation.

Here in my area, there is a fellow who sells such barrels and will even add a hose bib at the bottom for a nominal cost. I am not 100% sure I would drink from such a barrel, but the water inside should be great for bathing, laundry and housekeeping chores.

Another reader has suggested the use of colloidal silver to get rid of bacteria in water. I have not researched this personally, however.

Whatever your water storage method of choice, I highly recommend that you store at least two weeks of water for every member of your household. Just remember, you can only survive an average of three to five days without the intake of water. Why take a chance?

Note: This article first appeared at Strategic-Living and contains additional introductory material that can be found HERE.

You can support this information by voting on Reddit HERE

Introducing Strategic-Living: a practical and useful online magazine providing inspiration and guidance as we make our way through the maze of changes that are coming our way. In collaboration with my friend and colleague, George Ure, Strategic-Living will offer a synthesis ofUrban Survival and Backdoor Survival with much more detailed tips, tools and strategies for creating a vibrant and sustainable lifestyle wherever your path may take you. Think of Urban Survival and Backdoor Survival as your roadmap and Strategic-Living as your detailed guidebook. Here you will find articles and photos, diagrams and how-to’s, and a healthy dose get-out-there and do it with kick-in-the-ass inspiration.